Baller Buddies
by Aoshi'sgirlinstraightjacket
Summary: Aoshi plays basketball and now, so does Misao. Basketball seems to bring them closer together on so many levels. One of them happening to be love. What happens when a bad sport wants to come between Misao and her sexy beast?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter One

"Oh my God. I am going to be so late." Misao ran out the front door and slammed it behind her. She crammed a pop-tart in her mouth as she ran across the deserted road and into the next yard. The soles of her converses plopped against the concrete walkway leading up to a beige house.

She rammed up against the door, opened it, and surged into the house.

"Aoshi!" She checked the kitchen and the living room on the bottom floor then ran up the stairs.

"Where are you?!" She heard water running in the bathroom and turned right. She stood spread eagle, leaning in the bathroom doorway.

"Are you ready?" she panted. The trip over had tired her. Her adrenaline rush quickly wore off as she stared at Aoshi.

He stared back at her with a half shaven face and bed head.

"Hey." he said, standing up straight. Misao glanced over his body before growling.

"You're not even dressed yet." she said referring to his pajama pants and bare chest. She disappeared and was soon heard rummaging in his room.

Aoshi continued to get ready as Misao lectured him from down the hall.

"We're starting this again. It's first day of school and we are going to be late." She came back into the bath room, right as Aoshi was coming out, and threw a set of clothes at him. He shrugged and shut the door.

"Do you know how many times I got in trouble last year because of you? It's a wonder I kept it from my parents." she said as she gathered his books and shoved them into his backpack. She threw it at him when he cam back into his room fully dressed. Misao scowled at his messy head. She would never admit she thought it was sexy. She would die before she would ever admit _**he **_was sexy.

"Are you ready now?" she asked sarcastically. Aoshi stared down at her as he pulled his back pack up on his broad shoulder.

"Good morning to you, too." he said, trying to hide a smile. Misao rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go." They left the room, descended the stairs, and headed toward the garage. Misao walked down the steps into the cool garage with Aoshi right behind her. She went to the passenger side of his black truck, waited for him to unlock it, and then climbed up into the seat.

She watched as he easily stepped in and pulled the seat back to accommodate his long legs.

"Mom's been driving my truck again." he said as he started the engine. Misao sat back, letting the school routine sink in again.

Ever since Aoshi had been able to drive, he had taken her to school. Even now that she could drive and had a car, she still rode with him.

"You're going to have to show me around. I don't know the highschool very well. Meaning you're going to be stuck with me _**all day**_." she said. Aoshi never took his eyes from the road.

"You're not in junior high anymore? I though it was your first year." he teased. Misao humphed beside him.

"I'm sixteen now." she said while crossing her arms. Aoshi chuckled.

They teased each other like brother and sister. There parents had lived across the street from each other before they were born. There dads even worked together.

"Yeah, well I'm ready to get out. I've been in highschool way to long." he sighed, putting one arm on the arm rest. Misao giggled beside him.

"Only three years." she pulled her braid over her shoulder and ran a hand down it to smooth all the loose hairs down. He glanced at her.

"That's too long." He reached over and tugged on her braid. She slapped his hand away, knowing what would happen next. He caught her hand in his larger one and pulled her up on the armrest before swinging his arm around her neck.

Misao squeaked playfully as he held her there.

"I wish you would drive." she said.

"I am driving. I can multi-task." he squeezed harder to emphasis. Misao took an 'angry' breath, breathing in his smell. She rolled her eyes at the seductive scent. She absolutely loved the way he smelled. Unfortunately, so did other girls.

Although Aoshi never showed an interest in girls, Misao was always scared that one day he would. As long as he kept messing with her, it was okay.

He finally let her go and she scooted back to her seat. The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence. Misao pulled a book out of her backpack and began reading.

Aoshi glanced at the clock.

"Great. We're going to have to go to the office." he said. Misao looked at him from over her book.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours." he said simply. She huffed and sat forward but was jerked back as Aoshi roughly stomped on the brake.

"We're here." he said opening the door and stepping out. Misao, fuming, did the same.

"How is it my fault?" she asked as she stood beside him. She barely reached his shoulder.

"You're younger and you don't know your way around." he said, practicing his alibi.

"Oh...I see. This is a new excuse, isn't it?" They walked into the building and headed toward the office.

"Yep. I've been waiting to use it." They entered the office and he nodded at the secretary.

The middle aged woman stood up and placed a hand on her hip.

"Mr. Shinomori. Off to a good start, I see. Who's your friend?" she asked, looking at Misao over her glasses.

Aoshi placed a hand on the middle of Misao's back.

"Misao Mackimachi. She's a sophomore here and I was showing her around. That's why we were a bit late." he said. Misao smiled innocently to back up his story.

The secretary cocked an eyebrow at the two, then sighed.

"Alright you two. Just don't make it a habit." she said pointedly. She handed both of them tardy slips that were checked excused. They turned to leave, giving each other accomplished looks, but the secretary stopped them.

"Misao, honey. You have P.E. first period, so you'll need these." she handed a set of clothes to her over the desk. Misao eyes the white tee and blue shorts.

"Uh...thank you." they left the room. Aoshi snickered when the door closed.

"You are not going to hang around me today smelling like a dog." he dodged the punch she had aimed for his arm.

"I shower. Believe me I _**will**_ shower." she muttered.

P.E. turned out to be basketball. Misao thought it was stupid because football season was coming up. She didn't tell the coach that, though.

"Alright Ladies." Coach Gathes yelled. The woman was in her mid-forties but still had a young body. She was no taller than 5'4" and weighed 120 pounds. But she wasn't someone you could easily push around.

"I'm hoping that most of you know the basics of basketball." she said while holding a basketball in her palm. Misao sat nervously with her knees drawn up. Sure, she knew the basics but she was still oblivious to the details.

"We're going to start off with basic drills then practice." All the girls got up. Coach Gathes pointed out the drill and assigned seniors to the front of the line. Each senior was assigned a group of sophomores. The seniors demonstrated and the sophomores followed.

There were three others beside Misao in her group and were under Miranda Ordson. She was a tall senior that practically lead the team. She was scouted throughout the States. Misao was told that they were lucky to have her as senior leader.

(They're in the U.S.)

Misao was lucky. Especially since Miranda seemed to pay special attention to her.

"Good Misao!" Miranda clapped for the lay-up Misao just shot. "You girls would do good to learn from Misao!" the other girls grumbled as Misao beamed.

'At least I'm good at something.' she thought.

"All right girls...enough lay-ups." Miranda finally said after the four girls had already done fifteen minutes of lay-ups. They all were huffing and had their hands on their knees. Misao and Cathy, another sophomore, seemed to take a lesser toll than the other girls.

"Thirty laps around the court." Miranda said as she turned away with her arms crossed. They all started off at the nearest corner but growled at how Miranda was a driving beast.

Misao watched out of the corner of her eye as all the senior leaders gathered around Coach Gathes. They each pointed out a few girls that, Misao had noticed, were very good. They were tall, shot well, and had both excellent defense and offense.

When the coach turned to Miranda, Miranda turned around and pointed to her. They all turned to see a shorter girl, who was well built for the sport, and openly gawking at them.

Miranda put her hands on her hips. "Mackimachi! Is there a reason you're slacking? Push-ups! Now!"

Misao grumbled and dropped for her punishment. Miranda's voice rang in the gym as she counted.

Misao was sore as she sat down to eat. Cathy, Sam, and Doran sat down around her, each with sore bodies.

"Miranda worked us sooo hard." Sam complained. She was the heaviest set in Miranda's group. She wasn't necessarily fat but she was thick.

"We don't even play basketball." Doran said, agreeing with Sam.

"Well I happen to like it." Cathy said. All the girls glared at her as they dug into their food. Misao didn't even fell like talking...until Aoshi plopped down beside her.

Misao's friends gasped at the eye candy before them while quickly started talking.

"Aoshi!! I'm so glad you're here. Today has been so boring. But it wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't sore and...aren't you supposed to be in class?" Aoshi had simply nodded until the last statement. He looked around before putting a finger to her lips.

"Yeah, I skipped...but don't tell anyone." He looked around the whole table pointedly. Not that the other three really believed he was there.

"Okay...whatever. You need to get me out of class sometime." Misao said quietly.

"Misao." someone said behind her. Misao's eyes widened and then squeezed shut.

'No not her again. Hadn't she tortured her enough already?' Misao pleaded in her mind. She turned around slowly and placed a sweet smile on her face.

"Hey Miranda." she said, friendlier that she wanted to be. Miranda smiled back before continuing.

"Coach Gathes wants to come to a basketball meeting after school."

"Um...okay." Misao was going to ask what it was for but Miranda turned to Aoshi, eyed him, and then walked away. This ticked Misao off but she was curious and it bested her anger.

"What's the meeting for, Aoshi?"

Aoshi played basketball and was pretty awesome at it. Misao always thought she could join the cheer squad and cheer for him. But it seemed highschool was turning in a different direction.

"The senior high boys and girls basketball teams always meet after the first day of school." He smiled and tugged her braid.

"Apparently, you're going to be joining it."

I think that's long enough for the first chapter, don't you. Anyway, the next chapter will be the meeting... and other things. Hoped you enjoyed the first chapter and are excited for the second.

READ AND REVIEW!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello

Hello!! Not a lot to say…just hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter Two

Misao sat in the middle of the court surrounded by other basketball players. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her chin was resting on one knee. The coach was droning on and on about what the meeting was about and how they were so _"lucky"_ to be chosen to attend this meeting. Misao had tuned her out after a couple of sentences.

"This meeting does not mean that you are a part of the basketball team. You still have a choice of whether or not you want to join. But be aware, that you have talent. A talent that was given to you for a reason. Our school has won the state championship four times in a row. We are a winning team. You can be apart of that." Coach Gathes said.

The boy's basketball coach stood silently beside her, not interested in the meeting. That might have been the reason why all the boys were goofing off.

Misao glanced over at Aoshi who was obviously not paying attention. He and the other guys were messing around and quietly laughing. They had heard this speech three times already. They pretty much knew it by heart.

A paper was being passed around and a girl beside her flung the stack in Misao's face, throwing her out of her thoughts.

"Couldn't she have just given us the papers and be done with it?" she grumbled.

"Seriously." Misao whispered. She took a stapled sheet and passed it on. She was flipping through it as Coach Gathes said her last words of the practiced speech.

"And remember, success is a group effort. Being a star-player isn't everything. This…" She said gesturing toward the rowdy group in front of her. "…is everything. See ya'll tomorrow." She waved and then walked off the court.

Everyone jumped up and hurried out of the gym. Misao stood in the middle and stared at the pages. She wasn't one for multi-tasking. She flipped through the sheets; parent and student signature, physical exam sheet, uniform size…

She jerked her head up as the lights switched off. Misao grabbed her bag and ran out of the gym and into the parking lot where Aoshi was waiting for her.

"Took you long enough." He mumbled as he started the engine. Misao glared at him and then pulled herself into the truck.

"I was delayed." She said simply as they pulled out of the parking spot.

"I don't think so." Misao said defiantly.

She stood in the Shinomori's drive-way watching Aoshi shoot hoops. He stretched to the balls of his feet and sent the ball into the hoop with an arch of his wrist. The net swooshed as the ball went straight through it without any hindrance from the rim. He turned to her after he caught the rebound.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I just don't think I'm cut out for basketball." She said. Her comment threw off Aoshi's concentration making the ball hit the backboard and bounce back toward the concrete.

"You wouldn't have been at that meeting if you weren't cut out for basketball." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Misao grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. So it was a stupid excuse.

"I don't see why you wouldn't. I mean, you're going to get a lot of practice during football season since you have P.E. first period with Coach Gathes. And she's going to pressure you anyway if you don't.

"You say that because basketball's practically your life. It'd be stupid if **you** didn't play basketball."

Aoshi smirked as another shot sailed perfectly into the net. "What else are you going to do, Misao. Cheerlead?" he said with a sneer. He caught the rebound and threw the ball to her.

"Maybe." She said distantly.

He scoffed as he walked up to her and crouched into a defensive stance. "Believe me, you'd be better off sticking with basketball. Now, let's see how bad Coach Gathes' 'upcoming elite' are." He said teasingly.

"Is that what we're called." Misao asked with a cock of her eyebrow. She met him face to face, faked to the left, and then dodged to the right. It threw him off but his long legs soon caught up with her and stopped her before she could attempt a shot.

Misao turned and started to dribble away but Aoshi grabbed her from behind, lifting her off the ground.

"No fair! Foul!!" she cried, laughing at the same time.

"I don't see any referees." He said. "But here, I'll let you have one shot." He hefted her over his shoulder and backed up to the goal. Misao inclined her chin and chunked the ball. It hit the square dead in the center and fell into the net.

"But that's the only one." He dropped her, placing her on her feet and picked up the thrown ball.

"Now we play for real."

Yay!! Second chapter is up and out. It's not very long. Kind of a filler. The next one might be out tomorrow but it depends on what kind of mood I'm in. I'm on spring break so ya'll might get a lot of chapters. Read and review.

Sincerely, _straightjacket_


	3. Chapter 3

The last time I updated this was in 2008. At the end of my last chapter (unfortunately there are only two), I had promised another chapter the next day or sometime soon. We all see how that turned out. I know what you're thinking; I myself admit that I am a dirty liar.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Misao huffed in time with the beat of her heart. It kept her in rhythm and kept her from thinking about the burning in her legs and the pain in her side. The minute she felt her run becoming sloppy, she would take deeper breaths and push herself to show more grace. For some reason, thinking of the anaerobic processes now going on in her body helped her concentrate.

"Thirty seconds!" Coach Gathes yelled, looking at her watch for accuracy. Misao was thanking the gods for her fortune when ten minutes ago she was cursing them for her misfortune. It was only the second week of their workout plan leading up to basketball season and they were running for ten minutes straight. The first week was five, this week was ten, next week would be five again, and the week after that would be fifteen and so on and so forth. Misao was dreading the weeks she would have to run thirty minutes to an hour at a time, although, Coach Gathes had promised them short breaks when that time came.

"Anyone jogging will have to do extra drills after practice today." Coach Gathes said, adding more weight to the team's heavy load. All the girls broke out into sprints. Misao forgot about her heart beat, she forgot about anaerobic respiration. Instead she focused on the wondrous movement of her muscles. Muscles had always fascinated her; the way they contracted and relaxed at the will of her brain. They didn't question, however, they often protested, as they did right now, begging her to stop. But, until she allowed them to, they wouldn't, and that's what kept her going. She surpassed all the other long-legged girls, pushing her lithe body around the basketball court.

"Time! Hands on your heads." Gathes commanded. Misao immediately started walking, her fingers laced on top of her head. She breathed into her nose and out of her mouth. All the girls grouped together, walking in a herd towards their water bottles and towels.

"I hate…my life." Doran said in between breaths. She was obviously breathing very hard, her face red and sweaty. Cathy leaned up against the padded walls under the goal and sipped her water. Misao was walking around trying to calm her heart down.

"You okay there, Makimachi?" Miranda asked, walking in behind her to pat her on the back.

"Yeah, I'm good." Misao said with a weak smile. "My heart's just beating really fast." She laughed.

"It gets better once you get in shape." Miranda said. She walked off to talk to the other seniors who also didn't seem to have a problem with the ten minute run. Misao felt pathetic. She wasn't in terrible shape. She looked at Miranda's strong, shapely legs that carried her from one end of the court to the other and her lightly muscles arms that let a ball fly from the three point line. She had long fingers that could grip a ball tightly and swift feet that carried her quickly over the slick floor. Yet despite her athletic qualities, she still had curves. Misao envied her. She only wished she had to wear a padded wire bra under her sports bra. She scowled and kept walking no longer thinking about Miranda.

"Get in line for lay-ups!" Coach Gathes yelled, working on her strict time schedule. She was counting down the seconds until she heard shoes squeaking and hoops swishing; the music to her ears. Misao grabbed her water bottle, quickly took a sip, and got in line with a basketball.

…...

After school practice was tougher as far as how hard they worked, but it was lenient on showering afterwards. The girls only got fifteen minutes at the most to change and make sure they didn't kill flies with their smell as they walked down the hall. Now, they could take their time, or even head home to take more relaxing showers.

As Misao was changing her shirt to a less sweat soaked one she heard the girls talking and giggling as they walked into the locker room. She stood up and smiled as they waved to her.

"Aoshi Shinomori is sitting on the bleachers out there." One of the girls informed her. "He is _so _hot." She rolled her eyes heavenward and fanned herself with her hand. The girls behind her giggled and blushed.

"I love looking at him; just so manly. I wonder what he looks like with his shirt off." One of the other girls said.

"Ya'll are crazy." Misao said, grabbing her Nike bag with her basketball shoes and clothes in it, along with her water bottle. "He's my ride home." Explaining why he was there. She started heading towards the door.

"You might be waiting a while." The third girl said with a smirk. "Miranda was walking towards him, waving him down when we were walking this way."

"Oh." Misao said, stopping briefly. "It's whatever." She said finally. "They probably won't talk for long."

"Not right now anyway." The three girls smiled knowingly.

"What do you mean?" Misao asked, letting the door fall shut and turning towards them. Apparently, she seemed a little menacing because the girl's smiles vanished and they backed up a little, looking at each other.

"Well, you know." The first girl answered. "They're the best players on the girls and boys team. And Miranda's so pretty and well, Aoshi is ridiculously good looking. It's natural, you know." She said, quietly. "Do you have a crush on him or something?" She accused. Misao could see how ready she was to spread the gossip. She cocked her head in an annoyed way and looked the girl straight in the eye.

"Look, I've lived across the street from him my whole life; our father's work together. He's driven me to school ever since he got his license. And since you're wondering, yes, he looks amazing with his shirt off." With that she stalked off, extremely pissed.

….

Misao approached Aoshi and Miranda. The girls were right. Even after sweating off all her makeup and her hair tangled from being up in a ponytail, Miranda was gorgeous. Aoshi, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees the way he was, which Misao knew was how he naturally liked to sit in bleachers, but what Miranda probably saw as interest in her, was enticing as always. As she strutted forward, Aoshi looked up. Miranda followed his gaze to see a young sophomore in her squad approaching them.

"What do you need? Did you lose something?" She sounded more annoyed since Misao was interrupting her flirting with Aoshi than when she did during practice.

"You okay, kiddo?" Aoshi asked, concerned. He could tell when she was upset. Miranda looked at him surprised that he knew Misao's name.

"Oh, that's right. You two were sitting beside each other that one day. You aren't related are you?" She asked.

"We're neighbors." Aoshi said.

"I'm ready. Let's go home." Misao said quickly. Her stomach was starting to hurt and she was getting hot.

"Okay. Let's go." Aoshi said, getting up and following Misao out of the gym. He knew Misao was a hot head but even this seemed a little unusual for her. If she was mad she would just go off on someone and then it would be done with. She rarely held anything in, but apparently now she was trying to.

"What's wrong?" Aoshi asked when they got in his truck.

"It's nothing." Misao said. She ripped the ponytail holder at the end of her braid out of her hair and let her tresses fall around her face to hide how upset she was. Aoshi took that as a definite sign that she was lying and more than likely about to cry.

"It's something. Did something happen?" he prodded.

"No. Just…tired." She said lamely. In truth, she really could use a nap, but that wasn't the reason she was acting so childish.

"Misao…" Aoshi was getting frustrated at her obstinance.

"Leave me alone." She said pitifully. If Aoshi kept trying to talk to her she would definitely start crying. If she could just breathe, and think clearly about happy thought, and calm down then maybe she wouldn't start bawling.

Aoshi gripped the steering wheel harder, making the leather squeak. "Fine. I'm sorry for trying to help you." He growled.

Misao sank down into the seat, trying to make herself as small as possible. Aoshi pulled into his driveway. Misao jumped out before Aoshi could say anything or shut the garage door. Usually she would barge inside the house before him, getting a coke out of the fridge and saying hi to his mom. Her parents didn't come home until later in the evening. She had a key to her house but, even so, she would hang out with Aoshi before going home, especially if she needed help with homework or basketball. He watched as she walked across the street with her head down, wiping at her face what he was sure was tears. He felt bad, wanted to console her, but if she was going to be stubborn then he wasn't going to beg her to confide in him. Aoshi turned and walked up the garage steps into the house.

…...

Misao dropped onto her bed, sobbing. Why did it hurt her so much to see Miranda and Aoshi talking to each other? She knew it would happen eventually. When she was a little girl, she would imagine that Aoshi would fall in love with her, that her first kiss would be from Aoshi. She soon realized that all that was, was a fantasy. Aoshi saw her like a little sister; a kid, and he saw Miranda as datable. That, if anything, was the most unbearable part.


End file.
